Memorial service held in quake-ravaged Kumamoto town

April 16, 2017

MASHIKI, KUMAMOTO PREF. -A memorial service was held in Mashiki, Kumamoto Prefec­ture, southwestern Japan, on Saturday for victims of the pow­erful earthquakes that ravaged the town a year ago. The ceremony, organized by the Mashiki town government, brought together 390

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Narita, 11 other airports introduce new devices to speed up immigration  

April 16, 2017

NARITA, CHIBA PREF.-Narita International Airport near Tokyo and 11 other Japa­nese airports on Saturday start­ed using portable personal iden­tification devices to speed up immigration checks, at a time when the number of tourists from abroad is soaring. The device, called

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Japan protests against N. Korea’s missile launch

April 16, 2017

TOKYO- The Japanese government through diplomatic channels on Sunday filed a strong protest against North Korea’s ballistic missile launch the same day and denounced the latest provocative action. Japan, the United States and South Korea believe that the missile launch ended

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Fighter jets scrambled at record pace in fiscal 2016 : defense ministry

April 14, 2017

Tokyo- Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force scrambled fighter jets a record 1,168 times in fiscal 2016, which ended last month, the Defense Ministry said Thursday. The number of scrambles against Chinese aircraft, including fighters, bombers and reconnaissance planes, surged by 280 from

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Japan preparing for potential emergency over North Korea

April 14, 2017

TOKYO- The Japanese government at a meeting of the National Security Council on Thursday confirmed its stance of taking all possible surveillance and precautionary measures amid heightened tensions over North Korea following its repeated nuclear and missile tests, and against any

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OECD urges Japan to change culture of long working hours

April 14, 2017

Tokyo- The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on Thursday urged Japan to change its culture of long working hours to improve its work-life balance for the country’s economic growth. In a survey report, the Paris-based think tank cited a declining

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Lower house passes civil code bill

April 14, 2017

Tokyo- The House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, Japan’s parliament, passed a bill on Friday to revise clauses related to claims and contracts in the Civil Code. The bill was approved by majority vote with support mainly from

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Victims remembered on 1st anniversary of Kumamoto quakes

April 14, 2017

KUMAMOTO- A memorial ceremony was held in the Kumamoto prefectural government office on Friday to remember those who died in a series of powerful earthquakes that began on April 14 last year. A total of 356 people, including bereaved families and

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